Here's Why You Should Never Open Your Car Door With Your Left Hand

Look twice, save a life: The saying doesn't just apply to watching out for motorcyclists when you're changing lanes, but also keeping an eye out for bicyclists when exiting your car.

If you're like the majority of Americans who spend a good chunk of their week behind the wheel, you're probably accustomed to opening the driver-side door with your left hand. But this natural movement, reaching for the handle with the hand closest to the door, puts you and others at risk for injury. Why? The move doesn't require you to look left, so you're unlikely to see any rapidly approaching bicycles or cars passing on your left. As Brandon Spektor at Reader's Digest observes, retrofitted bike lanes are "often sandwiched...between parked cars and flowing traffic" making bikers "prone to being struck by errant car doors."

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

"Dooring" accidents as they're called can result in serious injury or death to the cyclist.

One solution is to do as the Dutch do. In the Netherlands, where cycling is a huge part of the culture, drivers have a habit of doing something that forces them to look out for bikers. When exiting the vehicle, drivers reach for the door handle with their right hand, a move that forces them to turn upper their body to the left, effectively bringing the street behind them into their field of vision.

Most Popular

It's called the Dutch Reach, and it helps save bicyclists from being "doored." Click the video below to see the move in action.